16:18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
nor let there be a secret place for my cry.
16:19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
16:20 My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
16:21 and he contends with God on behalf of man
as a man pleads for his friend.
16:22 For the years that lie ahead are few,
and then I will go on the way of no return.
17:1 My spirit is broken,
my days have faded out,
the grave awaits me.
17:2 Surely mockery is with me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
17:3 Make then my pledge with you.
Who else will put up security for me?
17:4 Because you have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore you will not exalt them.
17:5 If a man denounces his friends for personal gain,
the eyes of his children will fail.
17:6 He has made me a byword to people,
I am the one in whose face they spit.
17:7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;
my whole frame is but a shadow.
17:8 Upright men are appalled at this;
the innocent man is troubled with the godless.
17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,
and the one with clean hands grows stronger.